AM not doing so well today:
[FONT=Helvetica,Arial]Deseret Morning News, Monday, April 03, 2006[/FONT]
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Magical Masters: Clay Ogden earns invite with 2005 Publinks win[/FONT]
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By Mike Sorensen[/FONT]
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Deseret Morning News[/FONT]
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Tuesday morning Clay Ogden will be playing golf with two former Masters champions at perhaps the most revered golf course in the world: Augusta National.
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[FONT=Geneva,MS Sans Serif,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]BYU golfer Clay Ogden, the reigning U.S. Amateur Public Links Champion, will play in the Masters this week in Augusta, Ga.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia,Geneva,MS Sans Serif,Helvetica,Arial]Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The next day he's likely to play with a two-time Masters champion, who is one of the top golfers over the past four decades.
On Thursday, who knows, he could be teeing it up with Phil Mickelson or Ernie Els.
It's pretty heady stuff for a 21-year-old who grew up in the small northern Utah town of West Point and didn't even become a regular on the BYU golf team until this year.
Ogden arrived in Georgia on Sunday ready to embark on his excellent adventure at Augusta National in what will undoubtedly be the most exciting week of his life.
Today he's planning to go out on the Augusta driving range and try to hook up with someone like Fred Couples or Davis Love for a practice round. Tuesday he already has a tee-time set up with 2003 champion Mike Weir as well as two-time champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain and Miguel Angel Jiminez, another Spaniard.
On Wednesday, Ogden has the option to play with Weir again and two-time champion Gary Player.
He'll find out Tuesday who he'll be paired with for Thursday's opening round of the Masters, which could very well include one or two of the top 25 golfers in the world. Two years ago Publinks champion Brandt Snedeker was paired with Couples and David Toms.
So how big of a deal is it that Ogden is playing in this week's Masters?
If you haven't figured out by now, it's huge.
While it's hard to make comparisons, it's almost like a 21-year-old BYU football player suddenly getting a chance to play in the Super Bowl without ever playing a down of professional football.
The Masters is the most difficult golf tournament in the world to get into. Unlike weekly PGA events that feature fields of 144 or 156, the Masters has a select field of less than 100. This year's number is 92.
There are literally dozens of million-dollar winners on the PGA Tour that have never played in the Masters.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width=260 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=260>
[FONT=Geneva,MS Sans Serif,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Former BYU football coach LaVell Edwards chats with Clay Ogden, who is headed for the Masters.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia,Geneva,MS Sans Serif,Helvetica,Arial]Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Harrison Frazar has played PGA Tour for nine years and has won more than $6.5 million dollars, but he has yet to qualify for the Masters. Carl Pettersson and Bart Bryant have each won more than $5 million on the PGA Tour but are playing the Masters for the first time this year. Dean Wilson, a former BYU golfer who has been a regular on the Tour the last three years with $2.6 million in winnings, has never played in the Masters.
Yet here is Ogden, who has never even come close to winning his own state amateur, competing as one of five amateurs in the field and is the youngest player, by two years, in the world's most elite tournament.
Ogden is in Augusta this week because of a magical week last summer at the U.S. Public Links Tournament in Ohio.
The Publinks tournament is open to top amateur golfers from around the world, who aren't members of golf clubs. It's geared toward golfers who hone their games on public golf courses.
Qualifying tournaments are held around the United States earlier in the summer. It's one of four amateur events (along with the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and British Amateur) for which the Masters extends an invitation to the winner.
Ogden barely made it through medal play last July, surviving a playoff to get into match play round of 64. Then he had to come from behind to win each of his first three matches.
By the time he got to his fourth match, he was paired against one of the more famous golfers in the world, 15-year-old Michelle Wie, who was making no secret of her desire to become the first woman to qualify for the Masters.
With a crowd of several thousand watching, most of whom were rooting for Wie, Ogden was his usual unflappable self, cruising to a 5-and-4 victory. He won his semifinal match and then in the finals came from behind once again to defeat Martin Ureta of Chile. He trailed the whole match until taking the lead on the 34th hole and winning 1 up on the final hole.
When he was moving through the Publinks bracket, Ogden said the idea of playing in the Masters was not a motivating factor.
"I never once even thought about it," he said. "Maybe that's why I played so solid because I didn't jump ahead. I was just concerned with winning each match. Going to the Masters was just a nice benefit."
Now that it's here nine months later, Ogden still isn't exactly doing backflips about his participation in the Masters. To listen to Ogden talk, you'd think he was playing in the Glen Eagle Amateur near his home town, rather than the biggest golf tournament in the world.
"I think about it, but it's not like I'm worried about it," he said. "I'm sure I'll get a little bit more nervous when it gets closer."
His BYU teammates, however, remind him about it every day.
"We'll be walking down the fairway and say, 'You know you're playing at Augusta,' "' said Nick Killpack, a freshman from St. George. "But he's so low-key, that's just the way he is. He never gets nervous. That's the way he deals with everything, school, golf . . . he doesn't let anything bother him."
Ogden's father, Bruce, said his son "knows it's a big deal," playing in the Masters, even if he doesn't show it. But his coolness on the course is a positive for the most part.
"He's easy-going, always on an even keel," said Bruce, who will caddy for his son this week. "When he played Michelle Wie, he acted like it was just another day. He doesn't get excited one way or the other. You wouldn't know by watching him if he's 5-under or 5-over. That's good, but sometimes I'd like to light a fire under him."
BYU golf coach Bruce Brockbank agrees that Ogden "doesn't seem to get rattled," and says that he's seen a positive change in Ogden over the past nine months.
"Since he won at the Publinks, I've seen a big change in him," Brockbank said. "As his confidence has grown, he has matured. His maturity in general has helped him deal with college golf."
While Ogden may not act overly excited on the outside, he's very aware of the opportunity he has this week."
"It's something I just kind of stumbled into," he says. "There are guys who have played on the Tour for 10 years that have never gotten to play in it. It should be a lot of fun."
Ogden has been granted eight passes for the Masters and they will be used by family members — his wife, Valerie, his mother, Susan, sister Carlie, brother Cole, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and a family friend.
It will be the first visit for all of them, but Clay and his father had the opportunity to tour the course in early February.
Like nearly everyone who goes to Augusta for the first time, Ogden found the place better than he expected.
"It was kind of mind-blowing just being on the grounds there. The feeling you get when you're there and see the plaques and everything that's happened, it's pretty neat. There's so much history that you've seen on TV. Every golfer wants to play there."
Ogden was able to play three practice rounds in February with his father serving as his caddy. He took copious notes and played three or four balls on every shot.
His dad was equally impressed.
"It was awesome, just beautiful," he said.
Brockbank has never been to Augusta and is excited to spend the week watching his pupil. He believes Ogden has a chance to make the cut and win low amateur honors. If that happens, Ogden will find himself on national television talking to Jim Nantz and Hootie Johnson and the new Masters champion late Sunday afternoon.
"He has a great chance," said Brockbank. "With three days of practice, if he goes in and gets off to a fairly decent start and does what he does best, he should do well."
Becoming Masters low amateur is Ogden's main goal this week as well, something accomplished by a pair of former BYU golfers Bobby Clampett (1979) and Rick Fehr (1984) a couple of decades ago.
Ogden is realistic enough to know he won't be beating Tiger Woods or Vijay Singh or Phil Mickelson this week. But if he can make the cut and beat the other four amateurs, he'll be thrilled.
Brockbank hopes Ogden will "go and soak it all in" and enjoy what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"It's absolutely phenomenal no matter what happens."
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